THE SEX FILES: Interview with Chi Chi LaRue

Director, performer, entrepreneur, D.J., multi-award winner and drag queen extraordinaire, Chi Chi LaRue is a one-man-dressing-often-as-a-woman juggernaut. He has directed hundreds of gay porn movies as well as straight, which he did back in the day for Vivid, in fact. Moving onto his own Rascal Video for Channel 1 Releasing in 2008, La Rue directed the infamous bisexual film Shifting Gears and opened his own shop Chi Chi LaRue’s in West Hollywood. Chi Chi has ‘branded’ his name and iconic image on toys, candles, in movies, you name it, and has been named by Out magazine as one of the Top 50 Influential People In The LGBT Community. I was honored to have a sit down with the one and only Chi Chi LaRue.

With all the attention on gay marriage these days, is it as good a time to be a homosexual man or lady in the U.S. as it seems to be?

Well it’s always been OK for me. I think it’s great that we now have the same rights as heterosexual couples but I’m sure it’s made quite a few people mad. There will always be that weirdness with the rightwing groups, at least in our lifetime.

Seeing as porn and the net are inextricably linked these days, do you see pirating downloading as leading to the demise of the porn business or will niche DVD’s of high quality and clips-for-sale keep the business alive?

Porn as we know it, or as we ‘knew’ it, is pretty much dead because of piracy yes; the crap we see now is made on shoestring budgets and on the quick. Scenes and movies will be made solely as promotional vehicles for other products…we will see how that works!

Did you move into toy production in a way to have something more to offer as you face these economic questions?

C1R.com and I have been making sex toys for over 9 years now. And yes, it definitely helps to have a tangible item to sell that can’t be uploaded to the world 5 minutes after it is released! So until everyone has a 3D printer we are cool. The creative process involved in making toys is very exciting. People like to put things in, up down and all around their body…LOL.

Have you seen any recent new trends in gay male porn?

‘Trends’, not really, except for maybe the sock, panty thing. Then there is my new movie Pound Puppy that is all puppy play and sex, very fun! I actually told my business partners that I wanted to do a video called ALL THE FREAKS and have Gay, Straight, Tranny, etc. all mixing it up together.

That would be wild.

Yes,really wild!

So why has something like that not been done…or has it? That sounds like it could be a huge seller?

I guess Madonna beat me to the punch with Justify My Love. Damn her!

Besides the obvious (that it’s men-on-men), what makes gay male porn different then other porn?

The most differentiating fact that separates gay from straight is that you are shooting guys that for the most part really want to have sex with their scene partner. That always makes for a better scene and product.

The Drag scene is pretty rockin’ right now, mainly because of RuPaul and Drag Race. Queens are getting booked over singers, DJ’s and Go Go Guys, I love it!!

I’m assuming you love Drag Race then? ( LaRue directed the music video for “Trouble” by the show’s contestant William Belli.)

RuPaul is a good friend, has been for 25 years. I personally have never been on the show, but from what I hear from the girls who have, it’s pretty real. I went to the taping of the last finale and it took 5 hours to film.

What do you think is the biggest misconceptions about drag queens?

That they all have big cocks, that they are all Bottoms and that they wake up in a full face of makeup everyday!!

Do you ever sit back and let your ego scratch at your noggin and really consider all the good you’ve done for the drag/gay community or is it simply a matter of always working and looking to the future?

I love Drag. I love being gay and giving back has always been in my nature! I never really feel I have done anything that important, even when people tell me that.

What toys do you have in the pipeline, or things maybe you fantasize about creating?

The next 12 are all molded dildos from my biggest stars. People always love those the best. After that I am re-launching The BlackBalled, 13″ of black love! Then a new and improved douche and 2 new molded pieces from 2 new stars.

Is it truly about cock size in male porn or staying power…or both, or something much more?

I think sometimes it’s not about the size; it’s about what you can do with it. But sometimes baby, it’s all about girth!!! I’m not a size queen, but I can certainly be impressed…LOL.

In the end, what do you most want to be remembered for?

Wow, hard one. I want to be remembered for always being nice, especially to the fans! Taking a little time away from myself to make someone else’s day better.

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